Coloradans may never know consequences after sexual harassment investigations at Capitol

KUNC (Greeley):

State Senate leaders are in a position to decide whether to impose some kind of punishment against Sen. Randy Baumgardner.

The Hot Sulphur Springs Republican is facing a formal complaint of sexual harassment — a complaint a key source tells us has been validated.

But it is not clear who will make the decision or if legislative leaders will ever make the findings public. That’s because of Capitol rules that keep the process secret.

Legislative leaders won’t even confirm the existence of a complaint. We are able to report on it only through extensive reporting, often with sources who are nervous about going public.

“This whole problem [is that this] has been very secretive for many years,” said Jeff Roberts, with the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition. The non-partisan group promotes transparency in government. “There’s been a perception that not much has ever really happened when problems do come up.”

A former legislative aide filed a sexual harassment complaint against Baumgardner in November. She told us that he grabbed her buttocks multiple times during the 2016 legislative session.